The Compass Card Table was not proposed for the ocean-liner France, but the inspiration is obvious.
It is made by Maxime ten years later for his own sitting room, associated with the prototype of the Paquebot France Light Armchair, and the furniture support much noticed in 1959 at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs.
As for that particular piece an incredible innovation of Maxime is being used. Let us remember the “ lasting Chinese lacquer †concept devised in 1958. He goes on his search for materials, artistically exciting and nevertheless long-lasting, suited for modern life conditions. He decides to paint canvasses himself, to get them stratified and, height of sophistication, to cut them into pieces in order to make inlaid work. This matching of tradition and modernity is his signature.
In the eighties Maxime says: “That table is dated by its base indented from the top. Today I would make it on level and crossing, or even jutting out, so that the top seems hanging. I had also planned to make it with a square shape. The difficult part is to find a material as interesting, it is not possible to get canvasses stratified anymore…..â€
We started working from that last sentence, looking for the appropriate material. We decided to use carbon fibre because that is what Maxime would have done! The sun inlaid work from which that coffee table is named, comes out perfectly.
In addition to the Compass Card Table produced by Maxime some variations are still in his portfolios. We present them here.
Back to Maxime Old Biography.
